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The impetus for my current work comes from constant mobility. I
spent the past few years traveling throughout the States and Europe
with various grants and awards. I was rarely in the same city for
more than a few months. Trained as a painter, I needed a medium
that reflected my transience while allowing me to work without a
studio.
I picked up a camera because I could not haul paints and canvas
with me as I chased possibilities around the next corner. My photographs
act as portraits, capturing the distinct personality of a fleeting
moment in a passing location.
Because I\'m self taught in photography I eagerly explore possibilities
with little adherence to the perceived technical limitations of
the medium. I attempt to create new forms by combining photography
with installation art and other new media. My website, RELAPSED.NET
is an ongoing new media experiment investigating the potential of
multiple media combinations. RELAPSED.NET incorporates photography,
net.art, and tactical media projects including Shopdropping.
Shopdropping is an ongoing project in which I alter
the packaging of canned goods and then \"shopdrop\" the
items back onto grocery store shelves. I replace the packaging with
labels created using my original photographs. The \"shopdropped\"
works act as a guerrilla ad campaign for RELAPSED.NET, as well a
series of art objects that people can attempt to purchase from the
grocery store . Because the barcodes and price tags are left intact
purchasing the cans is quite possible. In one instance an employee
even restocked the cans to a new aisle based on the barcode.
Shopdropping strives to take back a share of the visual space we
encounter on a daily basis. Similar to the way street art stakes
a claim to public space for self expression, Shopdropping subverts
commercial space and activities for artistic use.
\"street meme\": a sticker, stencil,
or poster that can spread a single image around the world. Unlike
traditional graffiti art where each piece is unique, street memes
can be copied repeatedly, taking on a life of their own, and spreading
through the collective effort of people scattered around the world.
\"meme\": A term coined by Biologist Richard Dawkins
to describe self replicating ideas.
Born in Atlanta, GA in 1979, Ryan Watkins-Hughes
studied at the Pratt Institute, in Brooklyn, where he received his
B.F.A. in Painting in 2001. He has traveled extensively throughout
the United States and Europe with various grants and awards. Ryan
currently lives and works in Brooklyn, where he works as a photographer
and new media artist.
Ryan is the creator and developer of RELAPSED.NET. He is also the
editor for StreetMemes.com, a site that tracks the spread of \"memetic\"
street art.
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